As a Romance writer, I need to believe in the happy endings. As a realist I know they are all too often more fantasy than reality. Some writers do like to deal only with reality. I’m not one of them nor do people read Romance so they can be reminded that life all too often sucks. The perfect hero and heroine with just a few flaws help some people put themselves into a happier existence, at least while they are reading.

All too often life does suck, up one side, down the other, and horizontally. But amidst the doom and gloom we often have at least better than average moments. Even if it’s nothing more than getting your burger the way you asked for it and not the way the grill chef decides to make it.

Emotionally we can take Eeyore’s approach that nothing is ever going to go right so we might as well mire ourselves in doom and gloom. Heaven knows relationships are never as exciting in real life as they are in books. Who ever heard of a genuine hero leaving dirty underwear stacked on top of the hamper instead of tucked neatly inside? How can your average husband compete with such a perfect human being…right down to those sparkly white teeth?

Most of them can not. Nor do we actually want them to. Just think, gorgeous, ripped, brilliant…and neat? How can we average women compete?

Just to pull this all together, here’s a favorite song from a favorite singer.

The Carpenters lived in Downey, CA, where my husband taught.What happened to Karen should not happen to anyone. She tried so hard to live up to an impossible image, she destroyed her health.

Sorry not such a happy ending but she did leave us her voice. And a reminder not to rush to judgement on anyone else’s life or appearance or actions. Take a minute to find the happy in your own life, and share it with those around you.

One of the pitfalls of online romances is the absence of the “dirty underwear”–one person takes the time to craft a positive image of themselves, so the other person doesn’t get the real picture, just the best bits. Good points, thanks!